Nights in the Sleepless Town
by Aquarius Galuxy
Summary: They had two years, but sometimes, that was all the time it took to fall. [NejiTen, 3 parts]
1. Part 1

_Hey all - new fic, as promised. ;) Despite the humor, this one kinda hurt to write._

 _ **Sidenote 1:** Inspired by _ Nobuyoshi Araki _'s_ Tokyo Lucky Hole _, which is full of fetish photography from the 1980s, revolving around the fetish clubs in Shinjuku._  
 _From Wiki: "Kabukichō (_ 歌舞伎町 _) is an entertainment and red-light district in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. Kabukichō is the location of many host and hostess clubs, love hotels, shops, restaurants, and nightclubs, and is often called the "Sleepless Town" (_ 眠らない街 _)."_

 _ **Sidenote 2:** The photographer in the Naruto anime actually looks like Nobuyoshi Araki. Husband and I watched the episodes and laughed. ;)_

 _Naruto and its characters do not belong to me. **This fic is rated for a mature audience - read at your own discretion.**_

* * *

 **Nights in the Sleepless Town**

 **Part 1**

 **i.**

It was in early spring of 1983 that Hyuuga Neji first stepped into Kabukicho.

Kabukicho was an infamous red-light district located in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Beneath the cloak of night, colorful neon signs littered its various narrow streets, advertising services of all sorts - sex, sex, and more sex. A scattered crowd flowed along the streets, mostly men, while scantily-dressed women stood at the entrances of various establishments, in the hopes of luring more potential customers into their depths.

It was something his uncle would explicitly frown upon, but Neji was with the sons of Hyuuga Hiashi's business partners, and he couldn't say _no_ to their companionship.

The loudmouthed blond, Uzumaki Naruto, had been the one to suggest this visit - it was daring, for them not knowing each other very well yet, but Inuzuka Kiba had enthusiastically agreed, much to the annoyance of Neji and Uchiha Sasuke, who had apparently grown up with Naruto.

Naruto chattered loudly as they trawled through the streets, full from a meal of _ramen_. Neji hadn't much to say in the way of women, or erotic novels penned by some famous guy, so he walked quietly next to Sasuke, who had his hands in his pockets and who was content to remain silent.

Neji followed warily when the blond turned their party beneath an awning flashing "Lucky Konoha" in neon green. Simplistic drawings of bare-skinned women with perky breasts and short apron skirts lined both sides of the entrance, effectively veiling the interior of the establishment from prying eyes.

Prior to this, Neji had concentrated on excelling in his studies, in order to succeed the leading position of the Hyuuga family firm. He had not had many friends in school, though he knew to form acquaintances, and keep in touch with them. He even had a girlfriend or two, who taught him what it meant to share in the pleasures between sheets.

But the stresses and reality of the working world had set in quick after he graduated from one of Tokyo's most prestigious universities, and Neji ended his most recent relationship, so as not to deal with a girl who wanted more time than he could afford.

He blinked when he stepped into Lucky Konoha with Sasuke and the others.

It was some sort of a dim pub, with dark walls and strategically-placed spotlights, and a heady, thumping sort of music in the background. The place reeked of cigarette smoke, as was the norm in a variety of public places in Japan.

What caught his attention (and caught it securely), though, was the fact that all the female staff were topless. They only wore short apron-skirts held together by thin, gleaming chains, and the length of their legs were accentuated by the strapped sandals they wore.

It was a lot more bare breasts than he was prepared to see in one place, and Neji couldn't keep his eyes off them. There were all sorts - plump ones, flat ones, ones with wide nipples, ones that had freckles across their tops. Blood began pooling in his groin, and he followed his group to a corner booth.

He hadn't ingested any alcohol, and already, his mind was clouding over. He barely realized that the floors were made of mirrors, and that the low tabletops were glass, edged and held up with elegant chrome.

When Kiba ordered a hostess to accompany each of them, Neji could hardly believe his ears.

Nor his eyes, when four of the prettiest women walked up, and he realized that he could look into their skirts from the mirrored floors. They weren't wearing any underwear.

One of them sidled into his side.

She had large, almond-shaped eyes and an easy smile, and her hair was tied up in twin buns on her head. "Good evening," she greeted, her voice low and throaty.

Neji swallowed. He couldn't help glancing down, at her breasts, and yanked his gaze up, back to her eyes.

She grinned at him; he blinked awkwardly at her. What was he supposed to do in this place?

He stole a glance at Naruto, Kiba and Sasuke - each of them had a woman in his arms. Naruto was still chatting with Kiba and Sasuke and attempting to draw Neji into conversation, though he was getting distracted by his companion, as was Kiba.

Neji sat, torn between his own hostess, and attempting to engage in polite conversation, so as not to ruin the reputation of the Hyuuga company.

"It's okay," the girl beside him said, patting his thigh in what he assumed was a comforting way. "The conversations usually drift off after some time."

He yielded a nod, and flicked his eyes downwards again, briefly - he'd noticed a name tag attached at her hip when he peeked at her breasts earlier.

 _Tenten,_ it said.

"Is that your name?" he asked awkwardly. "Tenten?"

She gave him a light smile, and looped her arm through his. Neji tried not to pay too much attention to how it pressed her breast against his arm. "It is. What's yours?"

"Neji," he told her. The less she knew of him, the better.

But he couldn't take his mind off the fact that she wasn't wearing anything beneath that skirt, and that he liked how her breasts looked, very, very much. They seemed soft, and her nipples were a little stiff - it had to feel cold, when she wasn't wearing much at all.

He thought of offering his jacket, but didn't think she would accept it.

He tried asking her, anyway. "You... look cold," he began. "Would you like my jacket?"

Tenten blinked in surprise, and gave an amused peal of laughter. "No, but it's nice of you to ask," she told him.

Her previously-cool eyes warmed a little, and she looked at him - really looked - this time.

"You're the first person who's offered me that," she confided quietly in his ear.

He blinked at her, surprised. "Really?"

Tenten shrugged. "Most men just want to see the goods."

He didn't answer that; he was guilty of staring - and imagining - as well. So Neji shrugged, and looked away.

It was a number of starts and stops in the conversation with Naruto, before Sasuke excused himself, and the pink-haired waitress with him tagged along. Neji watched as they headed for the back of the pub, where there was an entrance to a closed-off part of the establishment. By this point, Naruto and Kiba were all hands with their waitresses, and Neji wasn't sure he wanted to follow suit, especially in public.

He looked to Tenten for an explanation about the back of the pub.

"Private services," she told him with a wink.

Neji didn't need more explanations to know what went on back there.

It did slip ideas into his mind, though, and he wondered about Tenten, about those full lips of hers, and her pert, creamy breasts.

It was a little more difficult carrying out conversation with Naruto and Kiba, partly due to the fact that he had very little in common with them, and partly because he itched to touch Tenten in the way the other two men were doing with their girls.

Neji swallowed.

"You should try it, Neji," Naruto smirked. He stood up not long later, and headed where Sasuke and his hostess had gone. Kiba followed them soon after, with a wolfish grin at Neji.

"So," Tenten whispered, her breath hot in his ear. "Will it be just beer for you tonight?"

His pulse quickened. He hadn't been with a woman in a while, and Tenten looked inviting and luscious and-

"I'm... not sure," Neji hedged. "What is it like in there?"

He flicked his eyes towards the back of the pub.

"There are many little private rooms," she told him, a smile playing on her lips. "No one has to know what we do."

It took a little longer before he jerked his chin down, and she grinned, slipping her hand into his to lead the way.

* * *

 **ii.**

The second time Neji made his way to Lucky Konoha, he was alone. It was mid-spring of 1983 - the longest he could wait before his thoughts led him back to Kabukicho.

He requested for Tenten's accompaniment, and was quietly glad when she made her way to his side, settling in the booth next to him.

"How are you today?" she breathed, looping her arm with his. She pressed close to his side, and Neji couldn't help remembering the previous time he was here...

"I'm fine," he responded. "And you?"

"Better, now that you're here," she told him with a grin.

He raised his eyebrows at her, surprised. "I didn't think you remembered me."

She was bold when she raised a finger to his mouth, and trailed it along his bottom lip. "I remember eyes like yours. No one's offered me a jacket since you left."

"Should there be a campaign to dress the women here?" he asked her lightly, a quirk tugging on the corner of his lips.

Tenten laughed. "You'd be the only one wanting that."

He smiled along with her, forgetting deadlines and disagreeable clients when her sparkling eyes met his. "Perhaps you need to be working in a warmer place."

She shrugged lightly then, and smiled. "I have. This place pays well, though."

He had found out that she was a college student two years his junior, majoring in business administration. It was what most women did, in order to secure positions as office ladies as a source of income.

"What about internships?" he asked.

Tenten shrugged again. "Those don't pay very well at all."

He wasn't sure what to say to that, so he took a sip of beer from his mug, and allowed his eyes to drift down to her chest. They'd been intimate once; surely this would be excusable.

She watched him with a mischievous smile. "Feeling bold today, Neji- _san_?"

He jerked his eyes away, flushing slightly. "Forgive me."

Tenten's grin grew wider. "How can I bear a grudge against you, when you haven't even laid a finger on me at all this visit?"

His forehead crinkled. "I'm not uncouth-"

She drew close to him. "You just prefer to do it in private," she whispered, grinning.

"I..." Neji couldn't find it in him to reject her statement, when she was right.

Tenten rested a small hand on his lap, and he swallowed. "How much of this can you bear before you, ah, require a private room, Neji- _san_?"

He grit his teeth, swallowed, and her hand slipped up his thigh.

Tenten shifted next to him, crossing her legs so her apron exposed a wide expanse of skin on her lap. She leaned away from him; her bare crotch was lifted from the vinyl seat by inches, and Neji knew that he was losing this battle, quickly.

He was already hard, and it wasn't too much of a stretch to slip his hand beneath...

It was Tenten who ended up positioning his palm under herself. He swallowed when she sat on his hand, and caught his breath when he realized that she was already moist.

She gave him a coy look; Neji licked his lips, pushed a finger between her folds.

Tenten's lips parted; her breasts heaved, and Neji couldn't stop himself from sheathing his finger fully within her warm, wet heat. His trousers were too tight for comfort, and it did not help when Tenten brushed her hand up his thigh, swerving away at the last minute.

Her name was a harsh whisper on his lips.

"Yes, Neji- _san_?" she smiled.

"I... would like to request some additional services," he ground out.

She smirked, like a cat who'd won the game of chase, and led him into the private rooms at the back of the pub.

Like the public half of the establishment, the back rooms were dimly-lit, though quieter. The private cubicles were closed off with curtains that had hooks on either ends, to catch the loops on the cubicle walls, and Tenten led him by the hand to one in a relatively unoccupied area, sealing them both into the little booth.

There was just a couch in the private room, as well as a vase, and a side table with tissues, wipes and lotions.

Neji set his mug of beer down; Tenten turned to guide him onto the couch.

Unlike the first time they'd acquainted themselves in this manner, Neji unbuckled his own belt, and undid his pants, to allow himself more room to grow.

Tenten glanced briefly down at him, and grinned. She stepped close, brushed her breasts over his chest.

"This isn't like you, Neji- _san_ ," she whispered, reaching down to take him into her hand. He grunted and thrust wetly into her palm. As with the previous time, she wiped him down with a wet antibacterial tissue first, and tossed that away in a discreet bin.

"What should I be like?" he muttered, and found her hips with his hands, slipping his fingers between her legs. She was hot and wet, and he wanted to be inside her.

"You were so reserved the last time," Tenten breathed, and gasped when he found her center, pushing two fingers in.

"Should I be reserved this time as well?" he asked. He wasn't concentrating on her answer, though; Neji backed her into the couch, sat down, and pulled her onto his lap, so her pert breasts were facing him.

Tenten groaned when he pulled a stiff nipple into her mouth and began sucking; she grew wetter around his fingers, rolling her hips at him when he slid his fingers within her.

"I'll make an exception this time," she whispered in his ear, her svelte body trembling against him. "I want you inside."

Neji turned to look at her in surprise. Coitus in prostitution was explicitly prohibited in Japan; Tenten had only coaxed him to release with her hands and mouth the previous time, according to the rules of Lucky Konoha.

"Are you certain?" he asked. (But he was already imagining himself deep within her, and he anticipated her slick, wet heat snug around him.)

She nodded, smiled. "You won't mention this to anyone," she told him.

"I promise," he answered, and meant it.

When he couldn't bear it any longer, he made her rise from his lap and bend over, shoving himself into her wet heat in a way that made them both groan. Their lewd position was reflected back at them in the mirror on the cubicle partition; Neji smirked, and Tenten grinned at him, her features contorting with pleasure when he pressed harder within her.

He had found a very good source of release in Tenten, he acknowledged later. What was better was that she enjoyed his presence, and loved the way he used her, just like she was using him.

* * *

 **iii.**

The fifth time Neji showed up at Lucky Konoha, in late summer, Tenten did not sidle up to him like she usually did. Neji frowned and inquired after her - the pink-haired girl from his first visit (he learned that her name was Sakura) informed him that Tenten was currently seeing to another patron, if he would be so kind as to wait.

Being aware that Tenten was hanging around another man, and seeing it with his own eyes, were two completely different things.

Neji had been immersed in his beer and thoughts, when he caught sight of a familiar woman across the room, wavy hair loose and framing her face. She was wrapped in the arms of some man, talking and laughing, her cheeks flushed.

It was Tenten, he realized with a start. She'd let her hair down, in a way he'd never seen before, and she was smiling and fondling her client as if he meant everything in the world to her.

Jealousy was bitter on his tongue, and it grew worse yet, when she slung her arm around the other man's waist, and led him into the back rooms.

He gripped his glass mug hard, vaguely aware that it didn't break despite the pressure he was subjecting it to.

He knew the taste of her skin, now, knew the sound of her whispers and moans, and it had been easy - too easy - to think of her as his, even if they were merely using each other for pleasure and company.

Neji didn't think he was angry, but he was.

He fisted his hands when she finally emerged from the back rooms with her client, looking a touch worn out. He didn't want to think about what she'd been doing, to look so drained. He didn't want to think of her with any other man but himself.

Tenten bowed goodbye to her client, and smiled at him.

Sakura hurried over to her, and whispered in her ear. All at once, Tenten brightened; Neji watched as she pushed her weariness away, perked up, and scanned the room for him.

Her features drew into a frown when she neared him.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked after the usual greetings, settling down next to him.

Neji didn't respond when she slipped her arm into his; he turned an offended stare on her.

She flinched, and he had the decency to feel a hint of remorse at his actions.

"Did I... Did I offend you, Neji- _san_?" she asked, hesitant.

He felt his lips pull into a thin line. It was ridiculous, that he was even thinking of a woman in this place as his. "No, you did not," he finally said.

Her brow furrowed. Tenten blinked and looked down, seemingly deep in thought. Neji watched when she glanced up at him suddenly. "You aren't jealous, are you, Neji- _san_?"

There was a touch of trepidation on her features, though Neji was still too sour to want to make amends.

"I'm sorry," she told him earnestly (but could he believe in her sincerity, when she'd been all over another man just minutes ago?) and gave a shallow bow. "I didn't mean for you to witness that."

"I understand," he muttered. Part of his anger, he came to know, was directed at himself, for wanting a woman who could never belong to him. Even if he trusted her, his uncle surely wouldn't agree to such a relationship.

"How may I make amends?" Tenten asked, looking at him meekly.

Neji found that he didn't like this uncharacteristic fear on her at all - perhaps just as much as he didn't like seeing her in the arms of someone else.

"Don't look at me like that," he told her.

She stared at him in bewilderment, blinked rapidly. "How... How should I be looking at you, Neji- _san_?"

"Like you usually do," he answered, and realized that that was what he wanted to see, what he was used to.

The changing of her features was slow at first; Tenten took a while to understand, before hesitantly brightening up. There was a hint of uncertainty in her eyes, even when she sent him an arch look.

"Like this?" she breathed, pressing close to him.

He kissed her.

Neji wasn't sure what possessed him to do something like that, in such a public place. All he knew was that he wanted her, wanted her to acknowledge him as the one she liked best, wanted some semblance of possession over her, even if that was just an illusion.

She surfaced from the kiss wide-eyed, a hint of a blush on her cheeks. "N-Neji- _san_?" she stammered.

"Does this belong in the back rooms?" he asked, staring at her lips, wanting more.

Tenten shook her head. "Not- Not quite."

He kissed her again, with greater abandon than before. She was pliable and eager beneath him, and his hands strayed to her breasts, and her hips.

"Neji- _san_ ," she gasped, when he broke away from her momentarily.

"What is it?" he breathed against her skin, sheer desire pounding insistently in his loins.

"Any more, and we'd have to go to the back," she informed him.

"We're going to the back," he answered without preamble.

They made it to the back rooms with their clothes still intact.

This time, Neji didn't wait for her to strip him of his clothes. He pinned her to the cubicle wall and kissed her thoroughly, touching every inch of her to remind her of himself.

"I want you to think of me," he whispered raggedly in her ear, when she was gasping and squirming in his arms. That she'd just serviced another man didn't seem to be of consequence; she was tired but her body was utterly responsive to his touch; her thighs were slick and her nipples were so stiff that he could hardly see any part of either areola. "Only me."

"I'm all yours, Neji- _san_ ," she said between heavy pants, squirming against him, her fingers slipping over his shirt buttons. "Please."

But he couldn't forget the image of her with the man before, and it still haunted him.

"Prove that you're all mine," he muttered in her ear, dragging his hands over her body, pulling her flush against him.

She grabbed his hand and shoved it between her legs, smearing his palm with her wetness. "This. Is this proof enough?"

The look in her eyes was pleading, almost begging him to understand. Neji wasn't sure if it was enough, but his body responded to that slick heat, her desire, and he was shrugging out of his clothes and pinning her down beneath him on the couch.

When he fucked her that night, he was rough and demanding and possessive, and she clawed at his back, arching towards him for more.

It wasn't until they regained their breaths, and Tenten gingerly pressed a wet wipe between her thighs, that he noticed her wince.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, concerned.

Tenten pulled the wipe away; Neji didn't miss the bright, angry smear of blood on the tissue. He stilled in dressing himself. Had he caused that?

"It's fine," she told him, pulling a fresh wipe from a dispenser. "It happens."

"I'm sorry," he blurted, sitting next to her on the couch. Remorse ate at his gut. "I didn't mean-"

"It's fine," Tenten repeated. "You didn't do it on purpose."

He released a sigh, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I've stepped out of line. I'm sorry."

She wasn't looking at him when she shrugged and tossed the wet wipe away. "Worse has happened. Don't concern yourself over it."

At that, Neji looked up at her in horror. "Worse has happened?" he echoed blankly. "How could anyone...? Aren't you not allowed to-"

Tenten shrugged. "It's part of the job."

It had not occurred to him that Tenten would be at the mercy of her clients, especially ones who did not respect her body.

"Why are you even doing this?" he asked her quietly, aware that there were other couples in the booths around them. "It's dangerous-"

"It pays well," she muttered, shrugging.

"I... don't want to see you hurt," he told her, and felt as if he'd given away a piece of himself when he made that admission.

Tenten glanced at him in surprise. She pulled her clothes back on.

"It doesn't concern you, Neji- _san_ ," she said slowly.

"It concerns me," he returned, stubborn. "Call me Neji."

She stared uncertainly at him, and her large brown eyes widened when he pulled his business card from his pocket, pressing it into her hand.

"Call me if you require any sort of help," he said plainly. "This isn't a proposition."

It was a while before Tenten nodded. She closed her fingers around the card, and managed a little smile at him. "Thank you... Neji."

* * *

 _A/N: Hooker fic with sweet undertones... hah ;) If any of you happens to be living in Japan and finds this inaccurate of the 1980s period, please do let me know!_

 _As always, thank you for taking the time to review.. curious about what you think of this new story line. ;) There will be 3 parts to this._


	2. Part 2

_Back with another update ;) I don't know what you guys were expecting in a hooker fic... and the first part was relatively harmless, though it gets more seedy from here on out ;)_

 _Naruto and its characters do not belong to me. **This fic is rated for mature audiences - read at your own discretion.**_

* * *

 **Nights in the Sleepless Town**

 **Part 2**

 **iv.**

It was the beginning of winter in 1983 when Neji received a call at his office.

"Hello?" he answered, cradling the plastic phone receiver between his cheek and shoulder to sort a stack of papers.

"Hello, I'd like to speak with Neji- _san_."

The voice on the other end was familiar, and a little distorted, because he'd never heard it on his phone before.

"Tenten?" he asked in surprise, placing the stack of papers down.

There was a sniffle, and the sound of her clearing her throat. "I'm sorry if you visited yesterday and I wasn't there - I've taken ill for the past two days."

"I... haven't been down," he answered hesitantly, though he was quick to add, "But I've been thinking of visiting."

"Thank goodness you haven't visited," Tenten said. He realized that the distortion in her voice was really due to the hoarseness of her throat. "I worried that you might've gone all the way there to find that I wasn't around."

He hadn't thought of that possibility before, and didn't know what to say.

Tenten seemed to interpret his silence as a negative response, because she apologized abruptly. "I'm sorry! I mean, you could have had one of the other girls accompany you. I'm sorry for getting ahead of myself, Neji- _san_ -"

"You've been addressing me as Neji, remember?" he said quietly, flicking his eyes to his office door. He was speaking at a volume that wasn't easily overheard by anyone outside his office.

"Yes, Neji. I'm sorry." Was she sounding a little down?

"There isn't much of a point visiting if you aren't there, anyway," he told her, and was pleased to hear her laugh quietly.

"You flatter me," she answered.

He was still concerned about the fact that she was unwell, however, and thought to ask, "May I visit you? Just... between friends."

Tenten was silent for a while - he hoped that his proposition wasn't driving her away. "Well... the boss frowns upon us seeing clients outside work, you know."

"This isn't about that," Neji retorted. "I just... I would like to see that you're recovering well."

"I suppose..." Tenten hesitated, and sniffled. "I don't want to pass the cold on to you though."

"I'll be fine," he assured her. "Where do you live?"

"N-Narimasu, in the Itabashi ward," she replied. Neji grabbed a pen and jotted down her full address, noting that she didn't live too far away from Tokyo - the train ride there would take less than half an hour.

"I'll be there at 7pm tonight, after dinner," he told her, setting his pen down.

"Okay. Sorry for the trouble," she said quietly. "I didn't mean to impose on you."

"Don't worry about it," he returned. "It's not a big deal."

Neji spent the rest of the day wondering if his visit was inappropriate - he didn't even know if she had a boyfriend. He did have the presence of mind to keep his distraction to a minimum, though, and Hyuuga Hiashi did not notice any change in his nephew's behavior.

When evening rolled around, Neji purchased a simple bento dinner from a little shop next to the subway station. He polished it off quickly on an empty bench, then took the train to Narimasu, alighted there, and bought a basket of fruits from the nearest convenience store. The cashier helpfully provided directions to where Tenten had said her apartment was.

Narimasu was located among the infamously affordable districts along the Tobu Tojo train line, and Neji had heard about the low rental costs of the apartments here - a significant consideration, seeing that Tenten was still a university student.

The roads were wide and full of traffic, especially now that it was peak hour, and a number of large apartment buildings towered over Neji, with a little supermarket or convenience store tucked in here and there.

He found her apartment without too much difficulty, and hesitated for a moment - should he really be here? - before knocking on her door.

Moments later, footsteps sounded behind the door. There was a slight pause, and the door swung open.

"Good evening, Neji," Tenten said, her surgical mask unable to hide the way her eyes curved in a smile. It was common for people to wear masks when they were ill, though he didn't expect her to do this just for his visit.

He stared first at her clothes. He'd been to Lucky Konoha close to ten times, now, and he'd never seen her dressed in anything more than that apron-skirt. At home, however, she had a sweater and a pair of pants on, and she looked... normal.

Neji noticed that she was flushed, her hair was mussed, and there were dark circles beneath her eyes.

"You don't look well," he said, frowning.

"Do come in," she replied, backing away to allow him entrance. "I'm sorry about the state of my apartment."

Tenten lived in a tiny place, with the living room functioning as a bedroom, and the kitchen and bathroom crammed at the side. A desk was pushed up against a wall of the room, next to the window, and there was a small bookcase next to it.

"I've brought you some fruit," Neji began, holding the basket out to her.

She stared at him in surprise, and was bowing deeply to him in the next moment, a blush coloring the tops of her cheeks. "You needn't have, Neji- _sa_ \- Neji."

"Will your boyfriend mind?" he asked, choosing to have his questions answered sooner than later.

"I don't have one," she told him when she straightened, her gaze skittering to a corner of the room.

"Why not?" he probed, surprised and relieved at the same time. "A person like you... I expected you to be seeing someone."

Her cheeks were still red, and she shrugged noncommittally. "Not many people hold me in high regard. Would you like some tea?"

"Yes, please." He followed her to the kitchen, looking around at the sparse furniture and decorations. Growing up with his uncle's family meant that he had his needs seen to, and Neji was never for want of any material possession.

All his considerations were set aside when she pulled a mug from her wall cabinet, dispensed hot water from a vacuum flask, and pushed a fresh teabag into the cup.

"Careful, it's hot," she said, pressing the beverage into his hands.

"Thank you." He watched her prepare a cup for herself, then trailed after her into the living room, where there was a low table.

He sat across from her, and looked on as she slouched in front of him, resting her arms on the smooth wooden surface of the table. A little radiator emanated waves of heat from a meter away.

"You really didn't have to, you know," she began, looking briefly at him. "But I appreciate your concern."

Neji lifted his shoulder lightly. "I wish to see you well."

When she smiled at him and didn't speak further, he asked, "Have you seen a doctor?"

Tenten nodded, and pulled her face mask off to sip at her steaming tea. She wrapped her slender fingers around her mug and inhaled a puff of steam. "I'll recover soon enough. This happens to me every year, when the seasons change."

He slanted her a dubious look, but did not question her, instead drinking from his mug of tea. "Have you given your address to anyone else?"

He did not mention the pub, though she understood his question anyway. Tenten shook her head.

"Surely I'm not the only one who's asked, though," Neji continued.

"You aren't the only one," she agreed. A tint of red fanned over her cheeks, and she looked away. "I trust you though."

It felt as if there was something in his chest roaring triumphantly.

He wanted to move closer, but held his position. "Why do you trust me? We hardly know each other outside... business."

At that, Tenten cracked a smile. "You've shown concern for me a number of times. Not many have done that."

"You've allowed a number of men in you, though," he blurted, unable to stop himself. He'd known instinctively that he wasn't the first of Tenten's patrons to have sex with her.

Her cheeks turned a dark red, and she dipped her chin, to avoid looking at him. "Some I thought I could trust," she admitted.

"They turned out untrustworthy?" he asked, aghast. "What did they do to you, Tenten?"

Neji found himself moving closer to her, sandwiching her between himself and the radiator.

Tenten shook her head. "It's not something you should concern yourself with."

He frowned at her, releasing his mug and placing his hands on her shoulders, to turn her towards him. She met his eyes reluctantly.

"What did they do to you? Have you been pregnant?" he asked, despite not wanting to know the answers.

Tenten shrugged. "I've had a couple of abortions."

His forehead furrowed. How could she mention this so lightly? "The procedure isn't completely safe. You're young - you shouldn't be subjecting yourself to this."

She grabbed a tissue from the box on the table and blew her nose into it. "My line of work isn't completely safe."

"Yet you trust me," he said, baffled.

Tenten nodded. Her eyes were large and completely readable when she looked back at him. "I trust you."

"You shouldn't - I'm still a man, after all," he told her, finally acknowledging the presence of fleeting thoughts in his mind - images of them curled up on her floor, images of him bending her over this very table.

She smiled then. "You already know that I enjoy sex with you."

He blushed to hear her say it so forthrightly. Their mutual attraction was something he couldn't deny, however, and he knew, by how often Tenten allowed him in her despite the regulations hanging over her head, that it was something she wished to see continue.

"You shouldn't continue to work there," he pressed. "I don't want to see you hurt."

She shrugged. "I feed myself and pay my school fees with that money."

He couldn't argue with that. "You could work as my personal assistant, and I'd pay you however much it takes."

Tenten chuckled, glancing at him. "Really? My rates are 2000 yen for every hour, and an extra 1000 yen for every man I bring to the back rooms."

Neji fell silent. He couldn't possibly get his uncle to agree to hire anyone for that kind of money.

"Maybe some other time," Tenten said, reading him correctly. "I'm not someone you'd want to see all that often, anyway."

She leaned into his arm, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I would," Neji argued, and he knew, as soon as he said it, that he felt that way.

Tenten turned; her lips parted in surprise.

"I like it when all you can think about is me," he blurted, and, before he could put too much thought into his actions, he leaned in and kissed her.

She moaned into his mouth, and Neji's blood heated at the familiar stroke of her tongue against his. He parted her lips wider, slid deeper into her mouth, and she groaned, her fingers curling into his thigh.

Tenten was the first to break away. "We shouldn't do this," she said, breathing unevenly. "You'll fall sick."

"I want to kiss you," he told her, and pressed his lips to hers, urging her to open herself to him.

She was pliant and warm against him, and he cupped her breasts through her sweater, realizing that she wasn't wearing a bra beneath. Tenten whimpered and pressed herself into his palms; his touch wandered.

Her nipples were hard by the time he got to them - Neji felt his pants grow tight at the little signs of her arousal. It didn't take long for his hands to slip past her waistband, nor for her to unbutton his clothes, hungrily seeking his flesh.

Tenten was naked and grinding wetly against him by the time he paused to take stock of their situation. He wanted to press her down into something soft, and broke away, looking around for a mattress. "Where's your _futon_?"

"In those cabinets." Tenten pointed, getting to her feet.

Neji didn't think he should allow her to do all the work, and followed after her, though all thoughts of waiting for a futon were shot to hell when she slid the cupboard doors open, and bent over to pull the rolled mattress out.

He sunk to his knees and slid his fingers over her wet folds; Tenten gasped, trembled. She clung to the cupboard shelves for support when he leaned in and licked over her.

"No one has been here for the past two days," he murmured, lapping at her wetness.

"No one," she agreed, and gasped when he spread her with his fingers, pressing in deep with his tongue.

"Neji!" she gasped. A shudder rocked through her body, and she leaked moisture onto him.

Tenten was barely hanging on to the cupboard when he slid his fingers into her and massaged her flesh, teasing her swollen nub with his tongue. When she came, she cried out, and clenched hard around him, her legs shaking so hard that they gave out under her. He withdrew quickly to catch her before she fell onto him.

It was a while before she recovered; he pulled the _futon_ out and laid her on it, before returning to the sweet spot between her legs, to tease another crescendo from her.

Tenten was exhausted by the time it was over, and Neji was torn between feeling smug, and apprehensive, for draining her to this extent. He apologized anyway, just in case.

"I'm sorry," he said, sitting next to her, a thin sheen of sweat on his body. "I shouldn't have pushed you so far."

She smiled weakly at him, and her grin widened when he dragged the _futon_ closer to the radiator. "Don't worry about it. I had a good time."

Neji pressed another kiss to her lips. "I don't want you to risk anything by having another man in you," he whispered, covering the fuzz between her legs with his hand. "I want to be the only one."

Tenten gave a light laugh. "Then you'd have to visit me more often. I get hungry sometimes."

His lips curved in a smile, and she grinned back at him, cradling his cheek in her palm.

* * *

 **v.**

Neji divided his visits between Tenten's apartment and Lucky Konoha through the rest of winter and the following spring. It was during early summer of 1984 that Neji noticed her wincing during sex.

A week later, it became painful for him to relieve himself in the bathroom, and he realized that something was wrong.

He called her at a time when he knew her to be home.

"You promised not to sleep with another man," he began, feeling hurt and betrayed, and a little angry. It didn't help that he was sore, and that he couldn't concentrate on work.

"What?" she said, sounding miserable herself. Had she not gone to a doctor yet? Tenten had confided in him that she'd been hurting the past week. "I haven't, Neji, not since I agreed not to in winter."

"You've spread something to me," he told her.

There was a short pause on her end of the line. "Not you too?"

She sounded genuinely surprised, and he released a sigh. "Have you been going to work?" he asked.

"I haven't been going to work - it still hurts." Neji could imagine her grimacing, though he wasn't feeling charitable enough to empathize with her.

"I'm going to the doctor in an hour. Would you like me to pick you up?"

Tenten agreed, and it was silent in the back of the taxi where they sat, side-by-side, but not touching. Neji paid for the fare when they alighted at the private hospital - a quiet one, that would not attract any unwanted attention to themselves.

"I'm sorry," she finally said, when they sat together in the waiting room. The receptionist had allowed them to see a doctor at the same time, and Neji was aware of the way Tenten huddled into herself, refusing to meet his eyes. "I thought... I thought I was fine. I've felt fine, all the way until recently."

He frowned at her, a multitude of questions at the tip of his tongue.

"Was it someone else?" he asked quietly. "I have a hard time believing that you didn't contract this- this illness recently."

Tenten shook her head, looked at her folded fingers. "I haven't been with anyone else. I promise. It was just fingers and mouths when I- when I was on the job. No real sex," she added quietly.

Neji fell silent, unsure if he should believe her. He knew that there were risks when he got involved with her, though the months had worn on without anything significant happening, and he chose to ignore the risks soon after. There had even been campaigns about AIDS and unprotected sex around - yet nothing bad had resulted from the months he'd been spending together with Tenten.

He was just as much at fault, even if he was too proud to admit to it.

They waited in uncomfortable silence until their number flashed on the large LCD boards in front of the numerous doors. Tenten looked up when the buzzer rang; apprehension flitted across her face.

She followed him to the door the LCD board pointed them to, and Neji turned to grab her hand at the last moment, before he knocked on the doctor's door, and opened it for Tenten to enter ahead of himself.

The look she sent him was filled with gratitude; he still hadn't made up his mind about her, however.

It was awkward describing his symptoms to the doctor, and even more so for Tenten. The physical examinations were painful to get through (Neji didn't enjoy being scrutinized while his pants were around his ankles), though Tenten seemed to have it worse.

She turned a helpless expression on him when she lay on the raised bed in the room, just before the nurse drew the curtains around her. Neji listened as Tenten was instructed to shed her lower garments and spread her legs - he realized that he wasn't comfortable with the idea of the doctor - an older, bespectacled man - staring between her thighs.

He found himself rising from his seat and easing past the curtain surrounding the bed, where the doctor and nurse stood close to Tenten. All three of them glanced at him in surprise.

"She- She's my girlfriend," Neji said haltingly, looking between her and the doctor, to seek their understanding. "She gets nervous in situations like this."

He offered Tenten his hand, and could feel waves of relief wash off from her when she grasped his fingers.

Neji thought of Tenten in other doctors' offices, getting ready for her abortions by herself. A heavy sort of feeling settled in his chest - she shouldn't have to go through all this alone, even if she did bring them upon herself.

When the tests were over, and they were sitting in a different room to await payment, Tenten turned to him and pulled him into a tight hug, burying her face in his shoulder.

"Thank you," she croaked.

He hugged her back. Her hair still smelled like shampoo, and she was warm and small in his arms. Inexplicably, Neji wanted to protect her, even if logic told him that he should stay away, that she was more trouble than this was worth.

"Is this really worth it?" he asked, after he'd made the payment for the visit. (Tenten insisted on splitting the bill - he accepted the paper notes she passed him.)

She was quiet when they moved to the pharmacy (the doctor had prescribed them generic antibiotics for now). The test results were due in three days, though the doctor had informed them that what they had was likely not AIDS, but a silent disease, like chlamydia or gonorrhea. That would explain how Tenten didn't know she'd been infected for months - there had been no symptoms to show for it.

"I'm sorry," she said again, when they sat and waited for their prescriptions to be ready. "I shouldn't- You probably should stay away from me."

His forehead furrowed. "But what will happen to you?"

"I'll get by," Tenten said carelessly, her eyes downcast.

"Is this worth it?" he pressed. "It's expensive for you to visit the hospital time and again. Are you really making money like that?"

She drew a deep breath and rubbed the backs of her hands. "It's what I know how to do."

"You have an education," Neji reminded her. "You can take a loan, or have your parents help you-"

"My parents are gone," she mused quietly, and he sucked a sharp breath in.

"I'm sorry- I didn't mean to bring that up," Neji fumbled. "My parents are gone, too."

She looked at him in surprise. "You're doing well, though," she said wistfully. "You never talk about having to keep up with bills and all that."

Neji wasn't sure how he should reply, so he kept silent.

"About my job," Tenten began, "I... can't quit. It pays the bills."

"And it gets you into trouble the other half of the time," he protested, keeping his tone down to avoid attracting the attention of other patients. "Do you really gain from it?"

She winced, but nodded. "Even with the medical bills, I make enough for tuition and rent. There aren't many options out there that give me that."

He sighed in frustration. "I don't want to see you get hurt, Tenten."

"And what are you going to do about it?" she challenged, narrowing her eyes. "You should look for a nicer girl, Neji. You're too good for someone like me."

He bit back the words on his tongue. _I'm not looking for anyone else. I've found her._

"I'm someone who doesn't have time for a proper relationship," he told her. "You know that."

"Then shouldn't you set some time aside for that?" Tenten retorted. "I've landed you in the hospital. You need to stay away from me, Neji. I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't hurt me more than you already have," he said, and knew it was the wrong thing to let slip.

Tenten flinched, glancing up when the LCD screen flashed their queue number.

She strode in front of him to the long counter, where their pharmacist waited for them.

It felt like forever until they were walking out of the hospital, heading towards the taxi stand. There wasn't much of a queue at this time of the day; Tenten hovered at the entrance of the stand.

"Aren't you taking a taxi?" Neji asked.

"I'm taking the train," she muttered, looking away. "The station's a short walk from here."

She was leaving him, he realized.

"About earlier - I'm sorry, I didn't mean what I said," he hurried to explain.

Tenten glanced at the queue for taxis, that was slowly growing shorter. "You were right. I've hurt you." She drew a deep breath, and stared him in the eye. "You should stay away from me, Neji. I'm not the person you're looking for."

He grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her.

She jerked away from him, eyes wide, shock written through her features.

"I'm staying," he muttered. "I'm seeing you home. Get into the taxi line."

"Why?" she asked thickly, and swallowed. "We've reached an impasse. You want me to quit, and I can't. I don't want to put you at risk."

"Then I'm stepping into that risk with my eyes wide open," he told her. It was unnerving how he knew he meant what he said, how he didn't want to leave, even when he was still sore, and still hurting.

She stared at him, shook her head. "I don't deserve you," she whispered.

"I'm insane," Neji acknowledged. "But I'm staying with you."

Tenten pressed her forehead into his shoulder. Laughed softly. "You need to come to your senses, Neji."

It had struck him, sometime over the course of the hospital visit, that he couldn't imagine himself with another woman, someone who wasn't Tenten, even if she was the cause of his physical discomfort.

He had realized that she was very brave, for having faced all her obstacles alone, and that she had been honest with him - she had kept her promise to sleep exclusively with him, even when there wasn't anything to be gained from it. She hadn't demanded more time from him, and she'd listened whenever he wanted to vent, even when they met at her apartment, instead of at her workplace.

He wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her close, whispered fiercely in her ear, "We're in this together."

She stiffened, then laughed again. "Does this mean I'm really your girlfriend, then?"

That prospect had not occurred to him.

Taken aback, he pulled away, and met her gaze to see if she was kidding. Her deep brown eyes sparkled at him. "Do you want to be?"

At his question, she blinked in surprise, and drew back, looking down.

It hadn't occurred to him, either, that Tenten could be shy like that. "It could be a question you'll come to regret, Neji."

"I mean it," he told her.

"Let me-" Tenten paused, and glanced at him. "Let me think about it."

.

Three days later, when he picked her up to visit the hospital again, Tenten said _yes_.

It wasn't the greatest news in the world, nor the start of something utterly wonderful. The doctor informed them that chlamydia was treatable with the right antibiotics, and that they would be cured if they took the pills regularly for a week.

He met her at her apartment that night, and took her out to dinner to celebrate.

* * *

 _A/N: Don't believe everything Neji and Tenten say.. there's a bit of misinformation there. STIs can be transmitted through mucous membranes, such as during oral._

 _Thank you, as always, for reading and taking the time to review! :)_


	3. Part 3

_Final installment to this oneshot-gone-wild. ;) This is a darker series, as I'm sure you've realized lol. :P **DMHG -** The falling in love bits were also more subtle - I think Neji and Tenten fulfilled each other's "love and belonging" need (refer to Maslow's hierarchy of needs), which is what leads to their bond in this story. :)_

 _Naruto and its characters do not belong to me. **This fic is rated for mature audiences only. Read on at your own discretion.**_

* * *

 **Nights in the Sleepless Town**

 **Part 3**

 **vi.**

It was mid-autumn of 1984, and Neji couldn't be happier.

Things were going well with Tenten - they had settled into some sort of a routine. In the day, he worked and she studied at school; at night, she worked, and he visited her, alternating between her apartment and workplace. Sometimes, they went out to dinner, or strolled in the park.

Being in a relationship wasn't as bad as Neji initially thought it would be - it still distracted him from work, but Tenten was a welcome distraction, and he saw more in the comfort he found in her than the burden of living up to his uncle's expectations.

Once, he brought her to the family cemetery, and introduced her to his parents. (Tenten showed him to her parents' graves, and claimed that they were even now.)

Another time, they went looking in the various wards around Tokyo, and talked about what they wanted in their dream homes. (Tenten wanted large windows and plenty of sunlight in their home; Neji wanted large rooms, to avoid the feeling of being constricted.)

They had plenty of time, he thought, as he held her hand and walked through bustling shopping districts with her. Times like this, he could forget that she wasn't placing herself in the hands of faceless men, who could possibly mistreat her as if she were worth nothing.

Neji savored every moment of when she was by his side. She made him feel safe, and he hoped he was the same to her in return.

* * *

 **vii.**

Tenten didn't show up at the restaurant where they were supposed to meet, one night in early winter, 1984.

It was a few days before Christmas; the streets were bustling, and clouds hung low over the city. Street lamps shone down on the sidewalks, illuminating pedestrians huddled in long coats and fur-lined boots. Neji sat by the window of Tenten's favorite restaurant - she happened to be very partial towards Chinese food - and apologized to the waiter for the umpteenth time, saying that he was sure his date would show up in another ten minutes.

Tenten never did appear.

Worried, now, Neji hurried out of the restaurant and to the nearest payphone, dialing her home number, a sequence he knew by heart. No one answered. He swore and took the train to Kabukicho, striding into Lucky Konoha with a gust of cool air at his back.

The girls there said she hadn't shown up the entire day - she wasn't on duty. He asked Sakura if she knew where else Tenten would be - she shook her head and gave him an apologetic look.

Had something happened to her?

Neji took a taxi to her apartment. It was quiet when he arrived at her door, and entered with her spare key - the windows were shut, and everything had been neatly put away - no sign of her presence.

It had not occurred to him that he knew the meaning of fear, until he searched the streets surrounding Tenten's apartment, and saw no trace of her. Had she been kidnapped? There had been cases on the rise, and Neji had not thought about them until now.

It was with great reluctance, and a heavy heart, that he trudged home, to the family compounds in Meguro, where his family had lived for generations.

The wet chill seeped into his jacket. Neji ignored it; he had no interest in paying attention to himself as he weaved through narrow streets and between brick walls. Winter had stolen the leaves of the shrubs lining the sidewalks; all he saw were barren branches under yellow streetlamps, and the shadows that fell over the stairs by the low-rise apartment buildings.

It was almost by chance that he glimpsed a figure huddled on a set of concrete stairs just a block away from the Hyuuga estate. On every other day, Neji would pass the homeless by without giving them a second look; right now, however, he was worried about Tenten, and his eyes skimmed the streets, hoping to see some hint of her dark hair.

There was a very subtle movement just as Neji walked by the homeless person. He (or she) raised his head beneath that hooded jacket, and in the next moment, the person was barreling towards him with an unsteady gait.

Neji felt himself tense, felt his heart quicken. He had not expected to be robbed this close to home.

His body moved into a defensive stance from the depths of his memory.

When his attacker was three feet away, he heard his name carry on the wind, "Neji!"

It sounded undeniably like Tenten. Neji froze, stared at the lithe figure, that was slender and a little shorter than he was.

Tenten crashed into his chest; her arms wrapped around his waist, and she buried her face in his shoulder.

She was shaking, he realized.

"Tenten?" he asked, weak in the knees with immense relief. He pulled the hood of her jacket away from his shoulder, and froze at the sight of dried blood smeared down her temple.

She tugged the hood back over her head, and he had to pry her body off from him, so tight was her hold around his back.

"Tenten - talk to me. What happened?" he pressed, his voice low and urgent.

She stared back at him with large eyes; her pupils were dilated, and she was pale, lips pressed into a thin line.

"Take me home with you," she pleaded, casting a furtive look around herself. "Please."

He didn't urge her for more explanations, instead slipping his hand into hers and striding towards his apartment, on the second floor of the family-owned building.

When they were safe within his home (Tenten had stood by him while he locked his door), Neji turned the radiator on and sat her down in front of it, rubbing her hands in an attempt to calm her down.

"What happened?" he asked quietly, peering into her eyes.

She wet her lips with her tongue, and glanced at the windows, as if she were expecting something to show up in them. "I was- I was so scared, Neji."

"Start from the beginning, Tenten. What happened?" He leaned in to kiss her on the lips; at that, she inhaled sharply, and blinked, before pressing her face into his shoulder.

"Someone followed me home last night," she began haltingly, her voice muffled. Neji felt his insides clench.

"From Kabukicho?" he asked. Unease snaked through his veins, and his stomach turned. "When did you find out about it?"

Tenten shuddered, and clung to him. "When I left to go to school this afternoon. He- he followed me."

Neji grimaced, rubbed her back. "Did you lose him?"

She seemed to shrink into herself, and clung to his jacket. "I- I thought I did. He was still waiting for me when class ended. I was so scared," she whispered, barely audible. "He caught me and- and I thought I was going to die."

"You aren't going to die," he told her fiercely, furious that someone would dare do this to her. "I won't let anyone hurt you."

Slowly, she allowed him to remove her jacket. Neji drew a sharp breath when he saw the faint red of bruises around her arms, and her throat.

If he had been scared before, it surely wasn't as intense as the fear he felt now, that he could have lost her for real.

"How did you escape?" he asked, just over a whisper. He wanted to hug her tight, but he was afraid of injuring her further. Instead, he settled for brushing stray hair away from her face. "What did he do to you? Did he-"

She shook her head quickly, looking down. "No. Thank _kami_ for that."

He wanted to undress Tenten, to check that she really was okay, but held back, pulling her against his chest instead. "I'm glad you're fine," he said.

She nodded. They fell into silence; Neji stroked her limp hair and gingerly ran his fingers over her arms, pressing kisses to her face. At length, Tenten continued her story.

"I- I was just coming out of class when he approached," she said. "He's one of my regulars. He wanted to know why I didn't have sex with him anymore."

Neji grit his teeth. Anger swum in his gut, prowling like a caged tiger. "One of those you thought you could trust?"

Tenten dipped her chin. "I stopped allowing it after I met you."

At that, she blushed, and Neji nuzzled her ear. "I satisfy you," he whispered.

She lowered her eyes, but did not deny his statement. "Anyway, he kept asking for more," she continued quietly. "I think he got frustrated lately - he- he didn't seem mentally stable last night."

"Yet you entertained him?" he asked incredulously, tightening his arms around her.

"I... didn't know what he'd planned," Tenten admitted with a shudder. Shadows crossed her eyes, and she pressed her cheek into his collarbone. "I wasn't expecting him at the university campus... He attacked me as I was leaving to go meet you."

Neji frowned, looking her over. "In plain sight?"

She shook her head. "I was... trying to run away from him by taking a- a shortcut to the train station, but he caught up, and-"

Tenten gulped, touched her arms.

He wasn't sure if he really wanted to know, if she wanted to relive those moments, but Tenten seemed to want to get it off her chest.

"He- he grabbed my arms and forced me against a wall - it was a deserted part of the school, behind some buildings." She grimaced. "Then he forced a kiss on me, and when I tried to refuse it, he-"

Neji swallowed, closed his eyes. Her story was getting worse by the minute.

"He strangled me, until I was gasping," Tenten said brokenly. "Then he kissed me, and his tongue..."

The fury in his gut grew, by twofold, then four. She was looking a little green and shivering when Neji glanced at her.

"You don't have to go through those memories again," he told her. "Whatever he did to you, you're still mine."

She slid him a grateful look. "I... It feels better when you know, Neji. I don't want to hide it from you."

He couldn't argue against that, and steeled himself to listen to the rest of her story.

"So... I- I screamed when he released my neck," Tenten continued, in stops and starts. "He was angry and- and slammed my head against the wall. I couldn't see straight for a few moments, and he p-pushed his hand into my pants."

Another shiver rippled through her body. He stared at her in horror, and glanced down, as if merely looking would tell him if she was hurt.

"A group of guys came along then - he was startled by them, and I fled," Tenten finished shakily. "I went to the nearest store and bought a jacket and hid in it... I forgot that we were supposed to meet tonight."

"You came here," Neji said, to complete her story. "I should've given you a key to my apartment."

She looked a little torn at that. "I- I thought I saw your family around. I didn't want to get closer - they don't know who I am."

"You're someone very important to me," he told her harshly. "They'll have to accept you."

Tenten sent him a wobbly smile. "Thank you, Neji."

Her features were still drawn, and Neji stood up, to get her food. She clung on to his sleeve; he looked at her. "I'm going to make you something to drink. Are you hungry?"

Tenten shook her head again. "Just tea, please."

She followed him to the kitchen, standing close by his side, and Neji prepared a cup of steaming green tea for each of them. Tenten glanced warily at the kitchen window.

He could understand her desire to stay completely hidden, and drew her away from the kitchen, to the living area, where he sat her down by the radiator once more. But there was no outlet to release his anger, so Neji swallowed it, and focused on Tenten instead.

"Do you want a shower?" Neji asked, when she had relaxed somewhat into his chest, sipping slowly from her mug of tea.

Slowly, she nodded, and when she'd set her mug down, he grabbed a few towels and led them to the bathroom, closing the door securely behind them.

"I don't have any spare clothes of yours here," Neji began, when he sat her down on the single low stool in the bathroom, and knelt down in front of her to undress her.

Tenten gave a little shrug. She watched as he unbuttoned her shirt, and leaned close so he could unclasp her bra. "But you have spare clothes."

"I would like to see you in my clothes," Neji admitted with a smile; the corners of her lips quirked.

"You're set on making me yours," she observed mildly, life sparking back into her eyes.

He leaned in and kissed her gently, cradling the back of her neck with his palm. "Is that wrong?" he asked against her lips.

Tenten relaxed against him, and allowed him to push her pants and panties off. "You never told me why you like me, Neji."

He stroked the backs of his fingers against her throat, then sat back on the tiled bathroom floor, so she towered above him on the stool, and leaned in, kissing each of her nipples. "Do I have to answer that question?" he dallied, taking a hardening crest into his mouth.

She gasped lightly. Arched her back towards him. Her hands flew to his shoulders, and she wove her fingers into his hair. "That's cheating."

"You're welcome to do the same to me," he answered with a little smile, and Tenten tried to frown at him, hitting him lightly on the shoulder.

"You're shameless, Hyuuga Neji." She pushed her lower lip out in pout; he leaned up and kissed her full on her lips.

It started off slow, though like the kisses they shared, it escalated quickly, and Neji found himself hard and needing her, found his fingers straying to her breasts and her hips. When they broke apart, he told her, with hooded eyes, "I want you to take control tonight."

He didn't want to remind her of what happened earlier by taking the lead; instead, he wanted her to only think of him, and this was the only solution he could come up with.

Tenten smiled uncertainly at him; he sat back and waited for her, looking over her longingly. Just when he thought he would burst from waiting, she leaned forward in her seat, and began to undress him - first his shirt, then his pants, and boxers. He throbbed when her gaze landed on his length; a tiny smirk crawled onto Tenten's lips.

She stood up to gather their clothes. Neji swallowed, looked hungrily at her bottom, when she turned around to pile the garments on a shelf in his bathroom. (Inwardly, he was relieved to see that she had not sustained any other bruises on her body.)

"You'll keep your hands to yourself tonight," she told him, giving him a small smile. "I will be the one to touch you."

"And if I don't?" Neji didn't want to imagine himself as being whiny, but she was teasing him by running her fingers over herself, and he could think of little else but her.

"I won't let you come," she answered.

There wasn't any question about it - they'd played this game before, and Tenten always kept her word.

He swallowed, acutely aware of how his desire strained obviously between them. But he was doing this for her, to help her get over that trauma somehow.

She sunk into his lap, trapping his erection between them, and lowered her lips to his, kissing him thoroughly. Her soft, wet heat ground against him; Neji groaned, met her tongue, and was left wanting when she flooded his senses with her moistness.

"Sit on the stool," she ordered.

He obeyed when she removed herself from his lap, and Tenten turned the shower on, soaking him thoroughly with its spray. She turned it off when they were both glistening, and soaped her own body first, before turning to him, spreading thick lather over every bit of him except where he needed to be touched most.

"Tenten," he pleaded, glancing down.

She followed his gaze, smiled, and moved behind him, pressing her breasts into his back. It didn't help his hunger any, when her skin slid wetly against his.

When Neji thought he was on the verge of being driven to madness (Tenten had now balanced herself precariously on his lap, and was doing very well at soaping her groin in front of him), she leaned in and kissed him again, sliding a soapy hand down his chest.

He grunted when she finally encircled him with her fingers and stroked; he leaked onto her, full and heavy and throbbing, and she licked her lips, lathering him very, very meticulously, from base to tip, and all around his balls. A little moan escaped her throat; Tenten swallowed and squirmed on his lap - it was obvious that she wanted him in her, though she hadn't had enough of teasing him yet.

It didn't help when she washed the foam off both their bodies with the shower, and she had him sit in the empty tub, his back a little ways from the end.

"You're determined not to touch me," she whispered, grinning now. He watched as she stepped into the tub with him, and straddled his lap, a hair's breadth from pressing into his arousal.

"I remember the last time I did," Neji complained. "You didn't let me come for days."

"I didn't think you remembered," Tenten returned - but the mischievous smile on her lips told him she did, and that she thoroughly enjoyed his discomfort.

Neji groaned when she finally rubbed herself over his straining length - she was touching him; he was so close to sliding into her - and leaned in, sandwiching his flesh between their bodies.

It wasn't until when he was clenching his fists in a bid to keep from pulling her onto himself, when he was so hard that it hurt, when he couldn't think of anything but being inside her, that Tenten finally sunk herself onto him, and began to move.

She felt like heaven, like all the pleasures in the world rolled into one, and all he could do was moan.

When she eventually rode him to release, Neji panted and leaned against the back wall of the tub, exhausted. Tenten curled up in his lap, facing him, and he turned the water on. Warm water splashed onto his ankles, rising slowly to fill the tub.

"May I touch you now?" he asked, leaning in to skim his lips along her shoulder.

Tenten pressed herself to him and sighed. "Yeah. Thank you, Neji."

"What for?" He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against himself, savoring the feel of her firm body against his.

"For trying to help. For caring." She encircled him with her own arms, and kissed him on the lips. "For thinking so highly of me."

He pressed his forehead to hers, so her eyes were a blur of dark brown.

"Marry me," he said.

She blinked rapidly at him in surprise. "Are- Are you sure? I'm so much trouble and-"

"I'm sure." He kissed her again. "Do you want to marry me, or not?"

"Yes, but-"

"You can move in with me," Neji continued.

Tenten pulled away by a fraction of an inch. "I understand-"

"And stop working in Kabukicho."

"Hyuuga Neji!" she snapped, frowning at him. "Listen to me!"

"Hyuuga Tenten," he said, tasting the words on his tongue. Neji decided that he liked the sound of it, a lot. "I'll listen to you."

She huffed and rolled her eyes. "Aren't you supposed to shut up when a woman is talking?"

Neji shrugged. "That sounds familiar."

"Anyway, I still don't get what you see in me," she said flatly.

He pulled her close again, and the warm water lapped against their bodies. "You're my safe place," he answered. "You feel like home. Like I don't have to worry about anything else when I'm with you."

Her lips curved in a beautiful smile.

"What do you see in me?" Neji asked, curious.

She glanced at the ceiling. "Oh, I don't know... You're proud and full of yourself and you always think dirty thoughts..."

"Tenten," he protested with a frown.

She grinned at him. "You see things in me that others don't bother to. You're always there, and you're a gentleman."

"Not always a gentleman," he amended.

"Not always," Tenten agreed, and trailed her fingers down his chest, making a soft splash when her hand sank beneath water. "But you are where it matters."

He smiled, and pressed another kiss to her lips. There was no telling how long she'd take to recover, nor whether either of them would truly be safe from aggressive strangers. Even so, Neji was glad that she was going to stop working at clubs like Lucky Konoha. He could already see their future together, and it was a warm, precious hope for the better.

* * *

 **viii.**

It was close to the end of winter, in 1985, that the New Amusement Business Control and Improvement Act was implemented in Japan. The flourishing sex industry all but collapsed, and Neji scanned the headlines of his newspaper without much fuss. (The man who had attacked Tenten a month ago was still out at large - the local police was hardly effective, but Neji was teaching her to defend herself. She could take him down without much trouble, now.)

"You would have lost your job in a few months, anyway," he commented lightly, setting his newspapers down on the coffee table.

On the couch next to him, Hyuuga Tenten smiled and elbowed him in the ribs. "Don't dig it in, Neji."

"I've made sure that the position in my office is available by the end of next month," Neji informed her. "You'll be my personal assistant after you graduate."

She slid him an arch look. "What will I be assisting you with?"

"My schedule, and various administrative duties," he said, before he caught her eye. "Of course, there could be various issues that arise..."

"I hope your office is soundproofed," she told him evenly. "I don't think your uncle will be too pleased to hear... noises."

Neji exhaled in amusement and turned towards her. Tenten held his stare when he rested his hands on her hips, and pressed her into the back of the couch. (She was doing remarkably well recovering from that incident, and he was glad for it.) "Perhaps we need to practice, then," he suggested.

"First one to make a sound gets punished," Tenten agreed with a grin.

"What kind of punishment do you have in mind?" He lifted a dark brow in challenge - surely she would be the first to let something slip. Tenten was the more vocal of them both, and he knew a few tricks to give him the upper hand.

"A massage," she said, brightening. "I would love to have a massage."

Neji scoffed. "Then you should ask for it without it being a punishment."

"Why?" she retorted. "Are you that confident in yourself?"

"I am," he told her smugly, and she glowered at him.

"Fine. It starts now," she informed him. In the next heartbeat, she'd pressed him down beneath her on the couch, and was effectively straddling his hips.

"Not bad," Neji allowed, impressed.

But he reached between her legs, and she narrowed her eyes.

"You're going to cheat," she muttered.

"There's no such thing as cheating in sex," he returned, and found his target.

She tensed, pressed her lips shut - but her nostrils flared, and Neji knew how this was going to go down.

Tenten pulled away from his grasp and began to unbuckle his pants, her eyes bright with triumph.

Neji smiled. Either way, they would both gain from this.

Two years ago, he never would have imagined himself in love, nor married. Two years after his first visit to Kabukicho, much had changed, and Neji sometimes wondered at how easily he and Tenten both fell together, as if they were always meant to be. It didn't make him any less confident in their future together.

 **END**

* * *

 _A/N: If you've got all the way through to the end, congrats!_

 _The ending I initially had in mind was a lot darker - Tenten was going to be raped, tortured and murdered, and Neji was only going to find out about it after her body was discovered. I thought long and hard about it, and decided that this wasn't what I wanted to think about when I looked back on the fic, so there you have the happy ending. ;) Thank me for it!_

 _All that aside, I really liked this story - it's one of my favorites. Do drop a note if you appreciated it/have thoughts/comments on it/etc! :)_


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